Increasingly, anesthesiologists use liquid anesthetic agents, administered intravenously. This technique allows for faster anesthesia induction and faster corrective action if a patient shows sign of adverse reaction to the anesthesia. At the onset of the procedure, an intravenous (IV) catheter is inserted in a vein and connected to an IV bag providing a constant drip of saline via an IV line including one or, typically more, access sites for drug administration via syringes and/or IV pumps.
Many such systems incorporate stopcocks, most frequently ganged together into a manifold configuration. While such devices function well, they require many handle manipulations. Such manipulations are not only tedious but they also can lead to errors. For instance, manipulating the handles of a stopcock manifold in the wrong way can result in the inadvertent dilution of a drug contained in a syringe attached to one of the ports.
Because of their need for a more-user-friendly valve system, anesthesiologists have elected to use pressure or luer-activated valves because such valves are easier to use (one handed procedure and less risk of error). However pressure activated valves do not allow for gravity infusions or for aspiration. Luer activated valves alone do not prevent retrograde flow when activated.
Thus, there is a growing need for better valves and valve manifolds for use in anesthesia. This disclosure describes a new concept aimed at facilitating anesthesia induction without the drawbacks of the existing valve systems.